Bittersweet and Strange
by canyousmellchips
Summary: Ashamed of her monstrous form, the beast concealed herself inside her castle, with a magic mirror as her only window to the outside world. As the years passed, she fell into despair and lost all hope. For who could ever learn to love a beast? A Beauty and the Beast AU.
1. Prologue

**A** thunder crosses the purple skies of Styria.

It's strange, he thinks.

Only a few minutes ago the same skies looked clear enough, he's sure of that. A beautiful shade of blue.

But now there seems to be a storm approaching soon.

It will catch him way before he reaches the town.

A breeze passes by his shoulders and it makes him shiver. It's different from the wind he is used to back at home. Definitely more cold. Almost too cold for a summer evening.

George Hollis is coming back from another one of his work trips.

He spent almost two weeks away, looking from city to city to do business with people who may be interested in one of his inventions.

It's not always good.

There is always one or two doors that close right at the moment they see his face. He's heard of the rumors about him being some crazy old man playing with witchcraft.

Because for close-minded people, that's what he does. It's not possible to make engines shift without hands. It must be magic, _dark magic_.

So it's not the best choice of craft he could've chosen, but it makes just enough for a good life for him and his daughter.

He smiles, thinking about his little girl. He misses her.

Laura just has a way of making everything better even in the worst conditions.

With her big smile and curious brown eyes and the way she can ramble on for days about something when she is excited.

It's contagious.

She was always like this. The odd little thing.

Just like her mother.

George sighs, thinking about his deceased wife.

It's sad, he thinks, that Laura barely knew her mom before she passed away. Angie was still so young and with so much life behind her gentle eyes.

But he does everything he can to make Laura's life a good one.

And that includes having to stay away for long periods of time occasionally.

* * *

 **S** omething catches his attention on the right side of the road.

He stops the horse and the animal complains, scared about the announcement of a storm coming.

George tries his best to shush the horse and climbs down from the saddle.

Just a few meters away from there is a beautiful rose garden, full of the most beautiful flowers he has ever seen in his life.

If he looks in just the corner of his eyes he can catch a small light, like the petals of the roses could almost be shining. But then a second later he blinks, and they are normal flowers once more.

Laura would like them. Roses were always her favorites.

He can imagine already, that little adorable squeal she always makes when she sees him after a long time, and she would throw herself at him in a bear hug. So content to be reunited with her Papa.

In the silence of the empty road the sound of his steps are too loud. And with his shoes rasping against the dirt he walks, heading in the direction of the garden.

His right hand is already reaching the closest flower when he sees it. Just behind all the others, in the darkest part of the garden, obscured by the beginning of an old rusty gate.

The flowers there are bigger. They seem more lively than all the others. That light shining brighter on its petals. It doesn't seem like a real thing.

A flash passes by his eyes and he gasps, shaking his head.

The flowers seem to be normal again.

He must be tired from the long trip. His mind is doing tricks to his imagination.

But there is something pulling him closer. His body is moving on its own as he walks over all the other flowers and the tall grass.

He needs _these_ flowers. These are the flowers that belong to his Laura.

When his fingers finally touch the stalk of one of the flowers, the first drops of rain begin to fall. Watering the red petals, making them even more perfect, if that is even possible.

Suddenly a growl comes from the other side of the gate.

And it's close. Too close to be safe.

The horse behind him neighs, trying to free itself from the carriage.

The thunder is louder now. Closer. Making his ears hurt.

When George sees the creature he screams and falls to the floor. Accepting his end.

The last image that comes to his mind is Laura's smile as she waits for him at home.

Waiting for the flowers that will never come home to her.

He hopes she stays safe.


	2. Ever Just the Same

" **G** ood morning, Ms. Morgan!" Laura says to the older woman passing by.

"Good morning, Laura." The woman answers and crosses to the other side of the street, with narrowing eyes.

It's always been like this. The weird stares in Laura's direction following her around when she walks through the town.

People think she is strange, too different from them. Always with a new book in hand, talking about the adventures she wants to have and live in imaginary worlds.

" _There goes that weird Hollis girl_ ," is what they whisper behind her back. And they tell her that it is not right for a woman to spend so much time with her head stuck in a book. That she won't ever find a good husband this way, with all these _ideas_ in her mind.

Laura just laughs at them. Like she would care about what others think of her.

"Well, well, what do we have here?" A young man walks in front of her, blocking her way to the library's door. "Isn't this the illustrious Miss Hollis? How are you this morning?" Will asks, with a mocking tone.

Laura hates him. If there is a person that she could hope to never hear the voice of again in her life, it would be Will Luce.

He is always smiling with a glint of something dangerous behind his eyes, like he would eat her alive. He has a way of making all the other girls of the town swoon all over him. But Laura doesn't fall for his charms. She is well aware that Will only wants to take advantage of young women. She tried to warn the other girls more than once, saying that they should find a better target for their fantasies. But Sarah Jane, Natalie, Betty and all the ladies of the town won't listen to her. They are all too enamored by Will's false promises and pretty looks.

But being handsome on the outside won't erase the ugliness that exists inside of a person as mean as Will. Laura knows that. She prefers to spend her time with the beggars and the little kids, the ones that like to listen to her stories, instead of wasting her time with shallow people like Will.

"Sorry, Mr. Luce. I'm in a hurry today." She says, trying to walk around the man. "So if you could excuse me…"

He blocks her anyway and gets even closer to her, invading her personal space in an annoying manner.

"You are always in a hurry, little princess."

"Can you stop calling me that?" Laura complains. She can hear her voice getting a high pitched.

Will only smiles bigger. Devilish, almost. It makes her frown. Laura balls up her hands into angry fists. She knows this is a bad habit that she acquired through time, but sometimes she still can't control her temper.

How do girls even fall for boys like these? Especially when all they can do is act as immature as Will.

"Oh, Laura!" A voice interrupts them. "I found a new book for you. Come here, girl."

Laura turns to the library door and smiles, relieved. Thankful that Mrs. Cochrane, the librarian, is always there to save her. She takes a second to eye Will, asking permission to pass. He stares back at her for a moment and then moves to the side.

"No problem. I'll still find you tomorrow, Miss Hollis," he says as he walks away.

When Laura enters the library she snorts and rolls her eyes.

* * *

" **L** ook, it's a new mystery one. Just got here for the new collection I ordered last month," Mrs. Cochrane tells Laura. Her eyes are shining behind the turtle glasses. "Your favorite kind."

Since Laura was a little girl the library was her favorite place in the town. The only place where she feels comfortable in other than her own house.

Books don't judge. People do. She had to learn in the hardest ways.

With the exception of Mrs. Cochrane, of course. An old widow who is always stuck inside her own world, whispering to the bookshelves and laughing to herself alone.

Laura likes her.

"It even has a _forbidden_ romance." Mrs. Cochrane whispers with a small smile.

"You do know my favorite kind, after all," Laura says, laughing. "Thank you!"

And then she is already running outside again, humming under her breath. Excited to be home with her new book as her only company.

* * *

 **H** er father will probably be back within the next few days. In his last letter he told her he would be coming home soon. No more than a couple of days.

But now two weeks have passed and still nothing. No more news, no more letters. No sounds of horses coming from the distance.

"Where are you, Papa?" Laura asks into the wind.

She is lying down, limbs spread on top of the grass in front of her house with a book in her hand and a pillow behind her head. Getting lost in the world of adventures and magic inside the yellow pages. Imagining herself as one of the heroines in the stories, just waiting for the moment where her own journey would start.

With a sigh, she rolls onto her back, looking now at the sky. The fluffy white clouds form different creatures when she squints her eyes. She can see an unicorn, a cat, and just to the left, a princess with her crown.

Is this all there is to life?

Spending her days dreaming about things that she would never have? Waiting for something new or exciting when it would never come?

Laura wants more.

More than this small town life. More than the whispers and rumors that people spread about her family. More than silly boys trapping her on the streets, thinking they could charm her with just a wink of their malicious eyes.

She wants acceptance. People who will love her for who she is. Love her for her curiosity, her ideas, her opinions and dreams. People who will instigate her hunger to solve mysteries and run into battles for a better world.

Maybe this kind of love only exists in fiction, she wonders. Maybe her hopes are set too high.

A loud noise comes from the distant side of the road and Laura gets up, fast. Book and pillow forgotten on the grass. She runs until she reaches just outside of her family's property and finds Kirsch there, her father's horse.

Alone.

With no sign of her father anywhere.

The animal is agitated, scared. He keeps pacing around with wide eyes and his mane standing stiffly.

Laura makes her way slowly towards the horse till she is close enough to him.

"Shhh, calm down boy. It's just me, Laura, remember?" When her hands touch the horse's face he seems to calm down a bit. "Where is he, Kirsch? Where is Papa?"

The horse neighs. Like he is trying to communicate something, but Laura can't understand. She hesitates only for a second, and then climbs on his back.

"Take me to where Papa is," she says, hitting the horse's haunches. And down the road they go.

* * *

 **L** aura has never gone so far away from the town alone before.

This part of the road is dark, empty with tall trees that seem to engulf all the air around. She worries for a moment wondering if Kirsch is taking her too far away, without a final destination. Sometimes her faith in the horse can be misplaced.

But then the animal stops and when she looks to the left, she can see it.

A rusty gate, hidden by a garden of beautiful red roses.

She passes through the broken bars with no difficulties, being this small has its advantages.

Once she is on the other side she gasps.

Mesmerized for a moment.

In front of her is now a castle out of a fairytale.

Well, if this fairytale is a very dark and scary one. Including walls that look like they're close to crumbling and broken windows.

The grass is growing everywhere, barely leaving space enough for her to move around. She needs to walk with her arms up, helping her get closer to the old walls of the castle. There is also a dried fountain, with angels blowing nothing to the air. In another time, the place must have been beautiful. An image out of the many stories she has read in her short life.

When she finally reaches the entrance she stops. She bites her lips, feeling uncertain. Half of her brain is telling her to go inside and find out what is hidden there. The other half, the one that sounds a lot like her father's voice, is telling her to go back. To take Kirsch home and stay safe.

But then she thinks about her father.

 _And what if he is here? What if he is hurt?_

She decides at that moment and takes a long breath and pushes the door softly.

The wood creaks and the noise echoes in her ears. Peeking inside, she can see that the entry hall is giant. A big, empty space, full of spider webs and smelling like dust. No one must have come here in years, centuries, she dares to think. And when her eyes adjust she can see a long staircase leading to another floor.

But then a sound just behind her calls for her attention. Another door is a few meters away, opening. Like someone has just passed through it.

"Who is there?" Laura asks.

But there is no answer.

Slowly, she walks again, keeping her ears on alert for any new sounds.

There is a different narrow set of stairs there, surrounded by old brick walls. It's a tight space, almost claustrophobic. But she can't stop now. She's becoming intrigued by the place. How is there an abandoned castle here and no one ever talks about it in town? A lost piece of some ancient architecture where royalty once lived; in the middle of an old Styrian road.

Long minutes pass as she goes down the flight of stairs. The lights of the few candles making creepy shadows on the walls. It almost looks like there are people following her, but when she looks around she can't see a single soul.

When she reaches the last step she finds herself in a dungeon, surrounded by old cells. The first three she passes by are empty, but in the last one she finds a familiar face and her heart stops.

"Papa!" Laura exclaims.

She runs to his side and kneels down so she can see his face better.

"Laura? What are you doing here, honey?"

"Kirsch brought me here. When he got home alone I was so scared…" Laura hugs her father, tears forming behind her eyes. "I thought something had happened to you."

She tries to get him to stand so that they can leave the place, but her father pushes her away.

"No, Laura. Listen to me. You have to leave, you can't be here." He sounds scared, his hands shaking. "Not when it… Not when _it_ comes back…"

" _It_?" She asks. "What are you talking about?"

"I think he is talking about me." A third voice joins them.

Laura turns around with a scream ready to leave her mouth.

Just behind the shadows a tall form is coming in their direction. It doesn't look human; no normal human could be so big and… _furry_?

When the creature comes into the light Laura is sure that this is no human.

"Who are you?" She asks, hating how weak her voice is sounding right now.

While she stares at the strange monster in front of her, she tries to think of an escape plan. There must be a way to leave, a hidden passage somewhere. That's how weird, dark castles always work in books. It couldn't be that different in a real situation, right?

She hopes so.

Because the creature is coming closer now.

And she can start seeing its features better. Dark fur, that resembles something between animal fur and human hair, and paws in the place of hands and feet. The creature is dressed in rags that look like human's clothes and a cloak. It seems as battered and old as the castle walls.

"I'm Carmilla, sweetheart."

* * *

 **A/N:** Turning my favorite Disney movie into a Hollstein AU may be the most enjoyable thing I've ever done!

Chapters will alternate between Carmilla's and Laura's POV.


	3. Ever a Surprise

**W** atching another shining petal of the enchanted rose falling, Carmilla thinks about her fate.

Three centuries ago her whole life had changed in one night.

A beggar had come to knock on her door, asking for a piece of bread. And even after Carmilla refused to help her the old woman decided to offer a beautiful rose to the girl. As soon as Carmilla touched the rose, a spell was casted on the castle. She watched as the Karnstein family fell dead, leaving only the youngest daughter to live in doom. She had to pay for what she had done, by losing her humanity year by year.

At that time she was still Mircalla Karnstein, the rich daughter of a count.

Now she was just Carmilla, an ugly creature, a souless _monster_. Someone who didn't deserve love or affection. Locked in her castle with only the company of talking objects.

They had once been the staff that served her family, and now they lived as animated objects. At first she hated it and couldn't understand why she had to spend the rest of her life with them, but after a few centuries, she's warmed up to them. They were all she had after all.

The spell the enchantress had casted on her and on the castle would only be broken if she learned to love and to be loved in return.

What a joke her life had become.

For who could ever love a monster like her? That's what she thinks as she looks at her reflection in the glass dome where the flower rests.

Carmilla takes her time observing the dark fur that now covers her whole face and the fangs that insist on escaping her lips. Soon she needs to close her eyes; it hurts too much to see what she truly is now.

"Countess… I'm sorry to interrupt your daily broody activities…"

With a grunt, Carmilla turns to face the door.

"What is it now?"

LaFontaine looks at her cautiously, their flames casting shadows on the walls. Anxious towards Carmilla's reaction they looked smaller than usual, as small as a candelabrum can be.

How ridiculous, Carmilla thinks, that in her doomed eternity she needs to have a staff comprised of a candelabrum, a clock, a broom, a teapot and all the other objects in her castle.

"We have a new visitor," LaFontaine says.

"Another one?"

 _What was happening today?_

Carmilla is used to spending months, years without anyone bothering her in her loneliness. The tall grass and old gates usually protect her from the outside world. But today, it wasn't enough that a man had tried to steal her precious roses earlier, now another person has come annoy her.

* * *

 **W** hen Carmilla reaches the dungeon she is ready to let out one of her most dangerous growls.

Except, when she sees the scene in front of her, she stops.

"Papa!" a gentle voice says.

There is a _girl_ there.

A beautiful young girl with shiny brown hair hugging the man in the cell. Apparently, she had come to find her father.

Retracting her fangs, Carmilla observes for a few more seconds. She feels confused while she watches the daughter comforting her father. It brings back memories from another time. Her mind is full of flashes of a warm hug that she used to have; similar to the one she is seeing now.

"No, Laura. Listen to me. You have to leave, you can't be here," the father says. "Before it… Before _it_ comes back…"

"It?" The girl, _Laura_ , asks. The name sounds sweet in Carmilla's mind. "What are you talking about?"

Carmilla decides it's time to reveal herself now. She is tired of being referred to as a monster, a _thing_. She can almost imagine the screaming crowds with torches running in her direction.

"I think he is talking about me," she says, still behind the dark shadows of the brick walls.

The girl turns in her direction when she hears Carmilla's voice, with wide eyes searching in the dark. There is an intensity in those eyes that Carmilla has never seen in another human before. She is used to the fear, the rejection and screams she always gets. But never confrontation.

But the girl just keeps looking at her when Carmilla finally reaches the light of the flames. It seems like she is trying to understand what exactly is in front of her. And Carmilla waits again, for the reaction as always, the terror that she expects to appear on people's faces every time they see her.

A monster. A creature. Nothing more than paws and fur and anger.

"Who are you?"

"I'm Carmilla, sweetheart," she says, still startled by the fact that the girl actually managed to ask her a question. "And it seems that your family knows nothing about respecting other people's property."

When Carmilla mentions her father Laura positions herself in front of the man.

It's almost funny to Carmilla. This small girl is trying to protect someone so fiercely. Carmilla is sure she could kill the chipmunk with only a movement of her paws.

"Please, don't hurt my father," the girl says.

At this, Carmilla snorts. It sounds more like a small growl than a human noise. Since the transformation her voice has changed, no more the sweet and melodic sounds of a girl coming out of her mouth. Sometimes she wonders if she can still remember how her voice used to be, the memory slowly fading from her mind as time passes.

She brings her focus back to the girl. _To Laura_. That tiny human who thinks she can confront the beast. Pathetic. Humans can be so hard to understand, these stubborn creatures that never give up.

"He tried to steal my roses, now he must pay for it," Carmilla starts again. "Thieves should not be tolerated."

Something in Laura's rich brown eyes seems to have changed. The intentisy in her eyes from earlier is now layered with a flicker of challenge.

 _Who is this strange girl?_

"Let me stay in his place," she says, determined.

It makes Carmilla stop again.

She is even more intrigued by what is happening.

"You want to stay here forever, in my castle, just so I will let your father go free?"

"Yes," the girl answers.

"Laura, you can't! Stop this!" her father tries to argue.

Laura turns towards him, taking him in her arms.

"I'm young and stronger than you are, father. Please." She now looks at Carmilla with pleading eyes. "Let my father go home. He is old and he needs to rest in a proper bed. I'll stay here. I'll pay for his mistakes."

Carmilla walks closer, facing Laura from above to intimidate her. But the girl doesn't hesitate; she just stays there. With a fire behind her eyes, ready to fight if the monster tries to come any closer to hurt her father.

"We have a deal, then. Your father can go."

"No! No, Laura!" The father starts to scream.

"I'll be ok, Papa. I'll find a way to go back to you," Laura whispers to him. "I promise."

There are tears in their eyes and Carmilla is growing tired of watching this melodramatic nonsense. She has better things to do than to deal with humans and their fragile feelings.

"Come on, old man. Let's take you back outside," she says and steps closer towards the father.

With difficulty, she manages to separate the two humans with her strong paws, throwing the old man over her shoulders. She carries him around the castle and only stops when she is outside of the gates, laying the man on the ground close to a horse that she assumes belongs to him.

She is being too merciful today.

"Laura! Laura!" His screams continue to come from the outside while he tries to get through the gates again. But this time Carmilla makes sure that the enchanted roses are on full power, blocking the castle from outsiders.

She hates them.

 _Humans._

Their screams, their smells, their wishes to try to solve every damn thing that they think is wrong with the world.

It's ridiculous how weak they are. Fragile little things.

Like she once had been. Naïve for thinking that she could escape her curse.

* * *

" **M** aybe you should take the girl to a more… comfortable and suitable place to settle in?" LaFontaine suggests.

Carmilla rolls her eyes, tired of the discussion.

They are trying to convince her that the dark dungeon is no place for a young and delicate girl. And it shouldn't even bother her, really. But sometimes she can still hear Laura crying two floors away from her and for some reason that brings something heavy to Carmilla's heart.

"We have so many bedrooms here. It just seems like a waste of space, I mean… just give her a dusty place with a bed. I'm sure she will be grateful with any small comfort," they keep rambling. "Did you know that if a human stays too long sleeping on the floor their back will become…"

"Okay, I'll go get her."

"Really?" LaFontaine says, surprised by the statement.

Carmilla only accepts the idea to make LaFontaine stop talking.

She is sure that's the only reason.

* * *

 **W** hen she gets back to the cells, she finds Laura sitting on the floor. Her arms are hugging her legs close to her chest, which makes her seem even smaller than before.

"Come on, I'll show you your room."

In a second Laura is on her feet again.

"My room?" she asks. "But I thought this was my room. I mean, of course, it's not the best place ever but I've seen how the rest of your castle is…"

"God, don't you ever shut up?"

Laura stops talking then and a small frown appears on her face. The girl seems like a ball of anger ready to explode at any minute. It almost makes Carmilla smile.

 _Wait?_

 _Is she? Smiling?_

 _Because of a silly human girl?_

Carmilla forces the muscle on her face to stop betraying her like this.

"Are you going to come with me or stay moping there all day?" She says with annoyance filling her voice.

And Laura finally starts walking.

* * *

 **I** t's a short trip from the dungeon to the rooms on the second floor but Laura manages to make it feel longer than it is. With the way she keeps asking Carmilla questions after questions.

 _"_ _So did you always live here?"_

 _"_ _This is a big castle. Is anyone else living here with you?"_

 _"_ _What exactly are you?"_

The girl only gave up on the tenth question once she finally understood that Carmilla would keep ignoring her.

"Not the talking one, I see," she states.

Carmilla turns to her when she reaches the door to the room. She is done with this. What an annoying little creature this Laura can be.

"Look, here is how this is going to work," she starts. "You are going to stay quiet in your room and won't bother me at all. I'm not your babysitter. You are here to pay for what your father has done."

She stops to see if Laura is paying attention and the girl just crosses her arms with a petulant expression on her face.

"These are the rules: you'll come have dinner with me in one hour or you'll starve until tomorrow."

"And what if I don't want to share dinner with someone as rude as you?" Laura has the audacity to ask.

Carmilla can't help but think that there is definitely something wrong with this girl; with the way she keeps playing with danger like this. Can't she see she is trying to start a fight with a monster?

"You will have dinner with me or die starving. I couldn't care less about you."

A flash of hurt seems to pass behind Laura's brown eyes.

And Carmilla's face softens.

Just for a second she wonders if she had really crossed a line. But soon she waves the sentiment to the back of her mind, and her anger is back in full force.

She _doesn't_ care about Laura. She won't ever care about any human again.

Opening the door, Carmilla signals for Laura to go inside.

"One last rule." She remembers to say. "The west wing is forbidden territory. I don't ever want to see your pretty face in there, understood?"

"What is in the west wing?" Laura asks curiously.

 _Annoying little thing._

"Understood?" Carmilla says and shows her fangs.

"Understood." Laura says under her breath.

And then Carmilla closes the door in Laura's face.

* * *

 **A** n hour and a half later, Carmilla is pacing around the dinner table.

She tried to be patient, she really did.

Ten more minutes, she tells herself. Ten more minutes and she will stop waiting for Laura. Maybe the girl will change her mind and come eat with her once she starts feeling hungry. But of course not.

Why would she come? Why would anyone share a meal with someone like Carmilla?

And how dare this girl annoy Carmilla so much like this?

How dare she disobey her rules?

No one has ever had ignored her before.

"That's it. I'm done with waiting," she says before she gets down on her four paws, running to the second floor of the castle.

"Countess, Countess… wait!" She can hear LaFontaine's voice disappearing behind her. They obviously got left behind, too slow with their tiny golden legs.

Once Carmilla is in front of the door she gets on her two feet again.

And then she knocks on the door, hard. Once, twice, three times. Furiously.

"Open the door, buttercup!" She grunts. "Dinner is cold already and I'm tired of waiting for you."

She waits a second and hears small steps inside the room.

"I'm not going!" is the response she gets.

"If you don't open this door in the next five seconds…"

Carmilla stops when she sees LaFontaine running towards her in the corridor. They seem out of breath, with a concerned look on their candle-face.

"Maybe if you try to be gentler she will come out, Countess?" they say.

Carmilla's paw is halfway in the air already, ready to knock with force once more. But she stops midway, trying to calm herself.

Then she knocks, softly.

"Open the door, sweetie pie. I don't have all night," she starts with a gentle voice, almost close to how a human sounds. "Come on, open up," she tries again, sounding more annoyed.

"Gentle, Carmilla!" LaFontaine alerts her.

Carmilla clears her throat, trying her best to be polite.

"It would be my pleasure if you could come have dinner with me."

"No!" Laura yells from inside, in a high-pitched voice.

Why is Carmilla doing this anyway?

"Well, good luck starving then," Carmilla answers in a rude tone again.

"Fine!" She hears Laura saying again, stubbornly.

"Fine!" Carmilla answers before turning around on her paws.

 _She definitely hates this girl._

* * *

 **A/N:** I'm not used with writing from Carmilla's POV but I hope I managed to do it well enough?

In the next chapter Laura will make some new friends...


	4. Both a Little Scared

**I** n her first two days at the castle Laura didn't leave her room.

She spent all her time crying on her bed, feeling miserable and lonely with her life in captivity.

After refusing Carmilla's offer to eat dinner with her, Laura thought she would really just be stuck in there until she starved. But strangely food started to appear on her bed table in the middle of the night. Without any trace of Carmilla or anyone around. The tray would just be there waiting for her when Laura awakes.

At first she was worried that it could be poisoned but, really, if Carmilla wanted her dead she would have killed Laura already. And she wasn't about to question this further anyway. It's food, _real_ food. Appearing magically two times a day for her.

It isn't until her third night that she finds out she is not alone at all.

 _"_ _She is so beautiful."_

 _"_ _Shhh, JP, don't talk so loud. The girl will wake up."_

 _"_ _Oh, she is moving."_

Slowly opening her eyes, Laura moves her head around the room, trying to find the source of the whispers that disturbed her in her sleep.

 _Is she starting to have hallucinations now?_

Laura tries to get up and trips on something, falling to the floor. When she looks down she finds a clock lying there.

"How did this end up here?" she asks, holding the object in her hands.

"Hey, take care with that, it's my arm!"

With a gasp she lets the clock fall to the floor.

"Ouch… that hurts!"

Did the object just… _talk to her?_

She is definitely having hallucinations; there must have been something in the food she ate earlier.

"I think maybe we scared her," another small voice says.

Laura looks around again and sees other objects coming closer. A teapot, a broom and a candelabrum. Her eyes are so wide she is worried they will pop out of their sockets any minute now.

Of course when she was a little girl she used to pretend her dolls were listening to her, they were her only friends. But this… this was completely different. Seeing something out of her dreams becoming reality, it's too much even for Laura.

 _Is it magical? Does it have something to do with the weird things in this castle?_

"I'm so sorry we scared you, Miss Laura," the broom says in a motherly tone.

"What is happening?" Laura asks.

"We are all under a spell."

She can recognize now that the answer comes from the candelabrum. Their red flames are flickering in the dark room.

"A _spell_?"

"Yes, centuries ago an enchantress put a spell on the castle and now we are all… objects that can speak, let's put it like that," the candelabrum explained. "That's why the Countess…"

"That's enough, LaFontaine," the broom interrupts the candelabrum; LaFontaine seems to be their name. What a weird name for an object, is what Laura thinks.

 _Objects that can speak_. Wow. That is a lot for her to digest.

But clearly when one starts living with a giant animal that talks, she should have expected something like this.

She thinks about how her father would have loved to know about this, he would have been delighted. Then she remembers she is stuck in the castle and had left him behind alone. And the thought makes her sad.

"Please, don't be scared of us. We are just trying to help," the teapot says, interrupting her thoughts.

"The Countess?" Laura asks.

She feels like her head is spinning around and around nonstop.

"Is she okay?"

"I think she is going to faint."

"How about we take a small walk, Miss Laura?" the teapot suggests. "I'm JP and these are Perry and Danny," he explains pointing respectively to the broom and then to the clock she stepped on earlier.

"Nice to meet you all. Thank you so much for the food," Laura says with a small smile now, she truly is grateful for their help after all.

And a walk sounds like a good idea. It sounds perfect, actually. It's about time she leaves this room that feels more like her personal cage at every hour.

* * *

 _"_ _ **A**_ _nd this is the statue of the Count Karnstein in his third year of command. It was made just a few months before he went on a long trip to…"_

 _"_ _Ah, yes! This is my favorite painting. A wonderful moment captured of the winter ball. That was such a great year; we had so many amazing parties here at the castle…"_

Laura is following LaFontaine and the other objects around the castle, eyes wide in awe of every new thing that she is discovering about the place. She is really trying to pay attention to their explanations but most of the time she is gasping and turning into the wrong corridor, almost getting lost. Perry, the broom, will always bring her back onto the right path.

"Don't go wondering about, Miss Laura. We don't want you to get lost," Perry says.

Just as they were turning once more to a new corridor Laura sees a small light that draws her attention coming from her left. She is ready to walk in that direction when Perry runs to her again.

" _Don't go there!_ " Perry whispers now, blocking the entrance.

"That's the west wing. It's forbidden, remember?" the clock, Danny, says behind them.

Laura looks suspiciously to the open door and then decides to turn back to her companions.

A few more corridors down and she starts to slow down her walk, staying just a few meters away from LaFontaine's flames. When they start heading back to Laura's room and disappearing into another corridor, Laura runs back.

There is just something calling for her to go to that place. To find out what is so important to get this kind of a reaction from the objects.

 _What could Carmilla be hiding there?_

It sounds like a mystery waiting to be solved and Laura always loved mysteries. She can't just be stuck in this castle without doing anything; she needs at least some excitement or new adventures to survive.

And this was her first chance.

Trying to make no sound, Laura slowly walks until she is close enough to the door that leads to the west wing. Her breath stops as soon as she steps inside, waiting for something bad to happen or to find weird torture instruments somewhere. But there is nothing extraordinary in the room.

The place is in even worse conditions than the rest of the castle, at least the parts that she had seen so far. Dust is gathering in thick layers below the broken furniture. Dirty sheets and piles of destroyed tables and chairs are scattered around.

It's so dark that Laura can barely see anything as she walks further inside the room.

In the corner of her eye she can see a frame lying against a wall. It seems partially destroyed by what seems to be the shape of claws. Laura wonders if this is Carmilla's doing and why would she destroy the piece like that.

She raises her hand and tries to place the torn parts of the painting together again but it's an impossible task. Half of the person's face had come out and only their eyes could be seen in its original place.

 _Her_ eyes, Laura corrects herself as she inspects the painting a little more.

It's probably the painting of some noble young woman. With pale skin and dark hair in perfect curls that framed her beautiful face. There is something so intense and sad in these dark eyes and Laura feels herself getting closer, wanting to understand this woman.

 _What had happened to her?_

Did Carmilla kill all the people from the noble family who lived here and then reclaim herself as the new Countess?

A pink light shines from behind Laura and she turns with a gasp, worried that someone had found her.

But there is still no one there.

The soft light is coming from a glass dome in the middle of the room, near the windows. As Laura gets closer, she can see that a beautiful rose is placed inside of it.

There are petals on the table under it and just as she watches, another one falls from the flower.

It's probably one more magical thing in this weird castle and Laura feels again that impulse, a pull that keeps asking her to come closer. _To touch the flower_. A humming in her ears seems to hypnotize her, making her walk until she is standing right by the side of the table.

But just as she is ready to touch the glass a growl comes from the door.

Laura stops the hands that she didn't even notice were reaching for the flower and tries to run to the wall, protecting herself from Carmilla's wrath.

The creature shows her white fangs to her, a terrifying look on her furry face.

For the first time in the few days that Laura has been here for, she feels frightened for her life. The danger in Carmilla's face never seemed so real, so devastating.

"What are you doing here?" Carmilla asks.

"I… I… got lost. And then the lights from the flower called for my attention," Laura answers, trying to control the fear in her voice.

"You shouldn't be here. I told you to not come here," Carmilla says as she walks closer, her eyes full of anger. "You are an insufferable child that can't obey one simple rule."

Laura now starts feeling nervous and irritated. The fear she was feeling before is slowly giving place to a furious wave that wants to engulf all of her. She is tired of people treating her like that. She is tired of Carmilla's insults and rudeness directed at her for no reason.

That's when she decides to be bold, to stop being afraid. She is finding a way out, _now_.

"This is no treatment you give to a person."

"What were you expecting, sweetheart?" Carmilla's voice is full of evil now. "Living with a monster… did you want gentleness and softness?

"No… But I thought that maybe…" _What exactly was she expecting, really?_ Laura can't find the answers. "You know what? Maybe you just don't know how to care about anyone or how to live with a human after all."

She sees hurt behind Carmilla's dark eyes and feels almost proud of it. It's a new and weird feeling for Laura. Maybe she hated half of the town's people that keep looking weirdly at her and whispering behind her back but this… this was definitely something else.

There is something in Carmilla that makes her incredibly angry and annoyed. More than ever.

"I'm not staying here anymore," Laura says, determined.

Something like a laugh comes out of Carmilla's mouth.

"Good luck trying to get out of here."

Feeling challenged, Laura starts running.

* * *

 **S** he runs as fast she can until she reaches the gates outside the castle, trying to find an escape. But the closer she gets to the other side of the gate the more the deep red roses seem to close the way. It's impossible to get away from this side.

Laura rotates around the castle walls looking for another path. On the backside of the land she finds a forest and decides to go in, thinking there is probably an end on the other side.

It doesn't take more than a few minutes until she starts thinking that maybe she overestimated Carmilla's challenge. She is definitely lost here. But she keeps going, strong on her will to escape. There must be some way of finding the end of this dark forest somewhere.

When she looks up she is almost sure she can see the branches of the trees closing above her head, blocking the light that comes from the stars. Laura finds herself alone in this unknown and strange place, surrounded by magical and sinister trees.

 _This is just great,_ is what she thinks.

A loud growl comes from her right and Laura turns on her heels, wondering if Carmilla finally came to finish her. She tries to hide herself behind a tree but more growling sounds starts coming from different directions.

When she sees the creatures circling the area she knows this is definitely not Carmilla.

These are wolves. Giant wolves that are not just any normal animals. Their eyes are red and their mouths seem to form horrifying and dangerous smiles. One of them reaches close to her and she runs, faster than ever before.

For minutes she stays like that, running blindly without knowing where she's going. She just knows she can't stop or the wolves will get her. At every second Laura can feel them getting closer and closer to her and her heart beats like crazy insider her chest.

Suddenly she trips on a branch and falls to the floor. Pushing her arms she tries to get up but sharp teeth closes around her left ankle and she screams, terrified with her destiny.

As she looks behind her back she can see the wolf's red eyes and she realizes _this is how she will die_. After days stuck in a castle and years living in a small town, Laura will just die in the middle of a forest, without having the chance to see anything of the world that she wanted to.

When she closes her eyes she tries to hold onto the earth harder, her nails filling with dirty. She needs to resist one last time; _Laura Hollis will not go down without a fight._

Then there is a louder grunt and the pressure on her ankle is relieved.

Laura runs to get up and looks behind again. She gasps at the scene in front of her.

 _It's Carmilla._

The tall creature is advancing on the wolves and growling at them, her big paws beating at the earth. She seems to scare them enough and soon it's just her and Laura in the glade.

At first Laura doesn't know what to do. Her heart is still beating hard and sweat is forming between her eyes. Carmilla just _saved_ her. That's something she really wasn't expecting.

 _Didn't Carmilla want her dead?_

A groan leaves Carmilla's mouth and she falls to the floor with a small sob. Laura seems to come back to her senses and runs to the creature's side.

It's only then that she sees the wounds in the dark fur. Dark red blood is running down Carmilla's paws and face.

"I'll help you back to the castle," Laura says, her voice weak and worried.

With a lot of difficulty she throws Carmilla's arms around her shoulders and the two slowly walk back together.

Laura feels something close to guilt as she sees the look in Carmilla's eyes. She never seemed less fearful before and there is something almost human in her pain-stricken face.

In this moment Carmilla doesn't look like the dangerous monster that had threatened her earlier, but only a harmless creature. She is s _omeone_ who tried to help Laura even after all the awful words the girl had unleashed on her.

* * *

A/N: Sorry it took so long to update this time, life kind of got in the way for us. As always bless my beta Doris for being so great editing this story.


	5. Just a Little Change

**C** armilla watches as the girl turns once more towards the medical kit.

She seems focused on her task and there is a cute wrinkle forming on her forehead, worry written all over her face.

Just a few minutes ago, Carmilla saved Laura from the wolves that live in the forest outside the castle. She is still not exactly sure why she did it. There is just something about this sweet girl dying in such an awful way that made Carmilla's heart feel hollow.

She tries to get away and growls when she feels the sensation of pain on her skin.

"If you don't let me take care of this the wounds will get infected," Laura says with a serious face.

And it's almost endearing, Carmilla thinks. The way Laura keeps treating her with this mix of annoyance and stubbornness even after the way Carmilla had treated her earlier on that same day. Like she isn't afraid of Carmilla at all.

They are both sitting on the floor in one of the living rooms. The crackles from the fireplace are the only sound that can be heard in the room. No one else from the staff tried to get close to Carmilla to help once she politely threatened to disfigure them if they got any closer.

But still, Laura stayed.

Staring at the girl, Carmilla can see how the light from the fire makes Laura's eyes even more beautiful, turning them into a lovely shade of light brown.

The silence they are in is comfortable and Carmilla feels almost peaceful.

Well, she would be if the damn ointment didn't hurt so much.

At least Laura's small fingers are delicate against Carmilla's skin. Gentle touches that Carmilla is not used to feeling, a least not in the last three centuries since she's become a monster.

"Better?" Laura asks in a tone that sounds almost soft.

Carmilla only nods.

"Thank you," she manages to say.

And suddenly Laura smiles with a beautiful blush running to her cheeks. It's sweet. Just like everything else she seems to do. Her eyes are shining even more brightly up close with this intensity behind them.

Carmilla decides in that moment that she doesn't hate the girl that much anymore.

* * *

 **T** hings start to change for both of them.

Laura comes out of her room to eat dinner with Carmilla. They even try to make small talk. The way Laura can ramble on for such a long amount of time changes from being annoying to being lovable. And Carmilla learns that she really likes to hear the stories that Laura tells her, about the adventures she has always wanted to live and the books she has read in her life.

At first Carmilla feels shy about her rude and animalistic behaviors.

She is a messy eater and keeps forgetting to use things like forks and knives.

When she notices that Laura is watching her with a curious look, Carmilla blushes. Or at least she thinks she would blush if she still had the pale skin of when she was a human girl.

But then Laura gives her a small smile and drops the silverware on the table. She takes the bowl in her hands and starts eating straight from it, reflecting the actions of Carmilla.

They laugh and finish dinner together in a mess of rice and wine.

* * *

 **T** he months start to go by fast through Carmilla's eyes and soon enough winter is starting.

It's a particularly cold morning when Carmilla goes down to have breakfast. She stops by the table when she sees that Laura is not there.

It's the first time in months that Laura is not up before her and she worries that maybe she had done something to upset the girl.

But then LaFontaine appears by the door and catches the worried look in Carmilla's face.

"She is outside, Countess."

"Outside?" Carmilla asks uncertain, like she doesn't really understand what this means.

* * *

 **W** hen Carmilla reaches the front door and sees the scene in front of the castle she can't stop the smile that creeps onto her face.

It is snowing. The first snow of the season.

She finds Laura close to a snowman. Her face is doing that thing where wrinkles form between her eyes.

It's the most adorable scene that Carmilla ever saw.

"Ouch!" Laura exclaims as soon as the snowball hits her back. "Hey! How dare you?" she asks as she turns to face Carmilla.

Anyone else would think that Laura is actually upset but Carmilla is starting to understand the girl better after all this time.

A determined shadow crosses Laura's face and she gets down, her gloved hands filling with as much snow as she can hold.

Carmilla doesn't run fast enough before the snowball hits her back.

* * *

 **T** hey stay outside for hours. Making armies of snowmen and getting distracted every five minutes with a new snowball fight.

It's only when Laura's stomach starts making noises that they decide to get back in. The snow is melting inside their clothes and their laughs echo around the castle as they get rid of the layers upon layers of jackets.

Carmilla realizes that she can't remember the last time she has felt so light and free. For a second out there in the snow she forgot she was a monster, a creature that is doomed for eternity.

Laura has this effect on her.

And maybe she can get used to her company if this means she will get to laugh like this more.

* * *

 **T** he way Laura treats her with kindness is making Carmilla feel fond of the girl. And for that reason she decides she wants to do something to show her how grateful she is for that.

"Try to think of something that would make her happy, Countess," LaFontaine says.

Carmilla paces around the flower room, her mind revolving around ideas of gifts she could give to Laura.

She already knows the girl doesn't care about expensive things or clothes that much. It needs to be something special, unique. Something that would make Laura smile at her in that cute way she does when she gets excited.

"I don't know. I'm not really good with the feelings things."

"I'm sure you'll have a good idea soon enough. You are getting to know the girl more every day."

She has to agree with the candelabrum.

In these last months she has noticed a lot of things about Laura.

The way she bunches up her face in the most adorable way when she is angry. How much she loves the snow and being outside even when it's freezing cold. How her eyes shine every time she finds a new part of the castle to explore.

And then a new thought crosses Carmilla's mind.

"I think I know exactly what to do." Carmilla runs out of the door as she keeps talking. "LaF, I need you to get Perry and everyone else to help me with this."

"I'm right behind you, Countess!" they reply as they make a small salute with their flame-hands and run to her side.

* * *

" **Y** ou are freaking me out. Where are we going?" Laura says, tugging on the blindfold that is covering her eyes.

Carmilla feels like a nervous wreck.

She guides Laura through the castle, with one of her paws very close to the girl's waist as they walk. The proximity makes her skin tingle in a new and exciting way.

"Have a little more patience, darling. We are almost there."

Just a few more steps later they stop in front of the library's doors.

Opening the door slowly and quietly, she tries to prevent any noise from reaching Laura's ears. She knows the girl is a curious little thing and can manage to find out where they are easily.

Carmilla takes a few seconds to inspect if the staff had cleaned everything like she had asked and then turns back to Laura, who is probably trying her best to resist taking the blindfold off from her eyes. This girl can't stay still for a second.

A small smile appears on Laura's lips and Carmilla catches herself smiling too.

It's ridiculous, she thinks.

Just a few months ago she was ready to throw this girl in the dungeons forever.

And now every time Laura smiles she feels like the sun is smiling at her.

It's contagious.

Dangerous.

But still, so welcomed.

Carmilla takes a few more steps to get closer to Laura. It's a bit difficult to take the blindfold covering Laura's eyes away with her paws but she manages after a few tries.

The girl still has her eyes closed.

"You can open your eyes now," she whispers in Laura's ears and pretends she doesn't see the shiver that goes down the girl's neck.

There is a small moment of silence and Carmilla can feel her heart constricting inside of her chest, scared that Laura won't like the surprise.

Maybe it's not enough.

Or maybe it is too much.

God, why isn't Laura saying something?

But then she sees the shift in her brown eyes.

And the sound that comes out of Laura's mouth is definitely a happy one. More than a laugh or maybe a surprised gasp… a squeal?

"Carm, this is amazing!" she exclaims.

And the same sound comes out of her mouth again as she turns around and round the thousands of bookshelves.

Definitely a squeal of happiness and delight.

Carmilla watches as Laura runs close to the books. Touching each one of the covers with wide eyes open, in awe with the place. Her eyes seem to be unable to process everything quick enough.

And Carmilla smiles, once more. She can't help it.

She remembers weeks ago when Laura mentioned her trips to the town's library. A sad look in her eyes, like she misses her old life and was thinking about good memories.

"It's all yours," she says.

"What? Really? Oh no, I can't accept that I mean…" Laura starts rambling but Carmilla cuts her off fast.

"Laura… just accept it. Please." Carmilla rolls her eyes, but there is still the hint of a smile on the corner of her lips.

"Okay, okay. But only if it's still yours too. How about we make this place ours?"

"Ours, then," Carmilla agrees.

And then Laura starts running around the room again with Carmilla right behind her.

* * *

 **I** t takes a whole week for Perry to convince her with a new idea.

"We need some happiness inside this castle, Countess. I'll take care of everything: the clothes, the food, the music. And I'm sure it'd make Miss Laura so incredibly happy too!" the broom says.

They are both in the flower room again and Carmilla is lost in her own thoughts.

She watches as another petal comes down from the flower, counting the last days she has to break the spell. To find love. There are only two more petals on the flower.

She knows what this means. Time is against her right now.

And she can't stop herself from thinking about it.

In the last weeks she tried not to, helplessly.

But maybe she still has a chance, a very small chance to know love.

Love.

Just thinking about the word leaves an unpleasant taste in her mouth.

Three centuries of loneliness and pain.

Until Laura.

With her beautiful brown hair and shining eyes. Laura with her wide smile and curious mind. A stubborn little thing that made her way into Carmilla's heart, breaking the tall walls that have always protected her from these dangerous feelings.

Could it be real?

Could Laura be the person she was waiting for all this time?

She doesn't want to get her hopes up and get hurt once more.

* * *

 **C** armilla asks the question the next day while Laura is reading in her library. Their library, Laura always corrects her.

It's becoming quite a habit in her life at the castle. How sometimes Carmilla would find the girl late at night in the place, asleep amongst the books.

"Would you like to go to a ball with me, Laura?"

The girl is so absorbed in her book that she jumps when she hears the words.

There is a strange look in Laura's eyes and Carmilla is scared for a second that this means she will say no.

"You never called me by my name before," is what Laura finally says.

And then her frown changes to a smile. The biggest one Carmilla has ever seen on her.

Something inside of her chest tugs so hard that Carmilla needs to take a moment to breathe. Then she realizes that this is her heart, beating so incredibly fast that it is making her feel dizzy.

Dizzy?

She is a three hundred year old creature. She can't be feeling dizzy like this just because of a human girl.

But she is.

Falling so deep and so fast. Drowning in the depth of Laura's eyes.

"You didn't answer my question."

"Will you be wearing a formal dressing too?" Laura asks with a very serious face.

"Probably."

"I'd love to see that."

"I'll see you tonight, then." Carmilla says with a small smile.

Laura smiles back and looks down in what Carmilla thinks is embarrassment.

"Tonight."

The word feels like a promise.

* * *

 **A/N:** Getting all the fluff out before we hit the storm. Kudos for my beta Doris who stays up until late just to help me edit this.


	6. Tale as Old as Time

**L** aura watches her reflection in the mirror in front of her.

The girl who looks back at her is definitely a new one. She is different from the little naïve Laura she was used to, who was always wearing old clothes and had dirt on her face.

But she feels that her exterior is not the only thing that changed on her since she started living in the castle. These three months have made her also change her mind about the creature that lives in the place.

Carmilla has changed from rude, distant and broody to a sweet and caring person?

She is not exactly sure she knows how to call what she is anymore. The fur is still there and her fangs and paws, but sometimes Carmilla will smile in a shy way that makes Laura feel all warm and giddy inside.

"Stop shifting around, Miss Laura," Perry says as she inspects the needles' last adjustments. The objects move in the air of their own will, like magic. "I'm almost done here."

With a few last stitches in her long skirt, the needles let her go and she is ready.

"Oh, she looks so pretty. Carmilla won't know what knocked her," says JP from the bed table.

"Thank you, Mrs. Perry," Laura says.

"It's my pleasure, darling. And it's just Perry, I already told you that!"

Laura looks once more into the mirror, admiring her reflection. She had never thought of herself as beautiful before, but tonight she felt a new confidence in her appearance. The yellow dress seems like something out of a fairytale, embracing her curves in all the right ways. Her hair is half pushed up, in a complicated hairstyle that makes her cheekbones more pronounced.

With all the makeup on her face, she doesn't look like a naïve provincial girl anymore. She looks like a fierce and glamorous princess.

Smiling wide, Laura makes her way out of the door. A night of surprises awaits her and she has never been more exciting in her life.

* * *

 **P** ausing at the top of the stairs, Laura forces herself to breathe.

Her heart is racing and suddenly the dress feels tight and uncomfortable. While she knows it's normal to feel a little nervous, she still can't help feeling overwhelmed.

As she looks down, she can see that the entry hall is different from what she was always used to. Someone had cleaned the whole place and lit candles everywhere. There is no more dust on the surfaces and the broken furniture has been removed. There is now a beautiful red carpet laid on the stairs, extending down to the hall.

More than ever, it looks like a magical place. Like a real royal palace and not a forgotten old castle in ruins.

Laura feels inadequate as she tries to walk down the stairs on her high heels, trying her best to look confident and not trip over her own feet. That would be disastrous.

She is halfway through the second flight of stairs when she hears a smooth and known voice.

"You look beautiful tonight."

Looking down she finds Carmilla's dark eyes staring at her, and Laura smiles with a light blush.

The creature is wearing shiny gold and blue clothing to match with Laura's dress. Carmilla is dressed in what would be traditionally considered masculine clothing; trousers, a button-down shirt and a vest. But she still looks like Carmilla; amazing and sweet Carmilla whose eyes seem to shine brightly as she takes Laura in.

"Thank you," Laura says as she accepts the hand that Carmilla offers her.

Hands in hands they walk together the last pair of steps.

"No dress for you?" she asks, pointing to Carmilla's clothes.

"It would look weird on me. This is better."

The awkward way Carmilla says it makes Laura feel sad. Like she would like to be wearing a dress instead.

Laura wants to tell her that she would still look good anyway, with or without a dress. But she is not sure if it's the right thing to say. She still doesn't know what could be hurtful to Carmilla or make her retreat into her broody mood again.

* * *

 **T** hey eat dinner first, sitting at opposite ends of the dining table.

Tonight, they are using the finest cutlery and dinnerware Laura has ever seen. The food is served with the cellars finest wine and the dining room has been beautifully decorated for the occasion.

LaFontaine and Perry serve the food in a very formal way; Laura cannot help but be amused by them.

"Would you like some more of the mash potato, ma'am?" LaFontaine asks Carmilla as the creature rolls her eyes once more.

Laura just laughs more and more.

Even Danny and JP stay close by the door, watching the scene with big smiles on their faces.

Laura feels herself blushing; it's as if the staff is constantly interrupting a private moment between Carmilla and her.

But she shouldn't feel like that.

Right?

* * *

 **W** hen dinner is over, they are finally left to themselves.

Holding her dress up, Laura walks with Carmilla to a different door at the end of the dining room that leads to a large place that resembles a dance hall. She went there a few times in the months she lives in the castle, but now it looks like a whole different place.

The giant candelabrum on the ceiling is on for the first time and the whole place is clean and decorated with red and yellow furniture. Polished and ready like if they were in a real royal ball. She imagined it looked like such a glamorous place in its glory days, full of people gossiping and drinking champagne.

Suddenly, music starts playing somewhere. The beat is a slow and sweet melody.

"Would you give me the pleasure of this dance?" Laura turns and sees Carmilla smiling at her, a paw extended in her direction.

"You know how to dance?" Laura asks incredulously as she steps closer.

There is a moment of silence where Carmilla's eyes seem out of focus, like she is concentrating on some old memory. Laura worries that she said the wrong thing, but then she feels Carmilla's paws closing around her waist.

"I… there is some faint memory about this…" Carmilla says, almost shy.

They move awkwardly for a few seconds.

Laura is trying not to fall on her heels and embarrass herself, but Carmilla still seems distracted as if she is trying to understand something.

Then suddenly her face opens in a big smile.

"I got this," Carmilla says. "Ready for a waltz lesson, Miss Hollis?"

"Yes!" Laura answers with enthusiasm.

"Partners were face to face, chest to chest." Carmilla moves closer to Laura, their bodies touching very intimately.

There is a tug on her heart and Laura feels dizzy at the closeness, at how sweet and warm Carmilla's dark eyes are looking tonight.

And then they move.

Freely and openly all around the ballroom.

And Laura laughs again.

She feels overwhelmed as she lets Carmilla lead the way. They turn and twirl and even at some point Laura is thrown down, almost touching the floor, but Carmilla catches her and brings her back up again.

It's strange, Laura thinks, how this is the moment where she feels happier than ever.

When she agreed to live in the castle, trading her life for her fathers', she was expecting to live a hard and joyless life. But then she started feeling, little by little, that she could be content and comfortable with the life she, Carmilla and the staff were creating in the castle.

Here, there were no people whispering behind her back or treating her like she was still a child. Here, no one would look weirdly at her because of the many hours she spends reading books in the library or saying that her dreams were childish.

Here she was just herself. She was just Laura.

* * *

 **L** ater when the music finally stops and they feet are hurting from so much dancing, Carmilla takes Laura outside to a balcony. From here Laura can see the front of the castle. The dry fountain with its angels and no water, the grass that keeps growing everywhere now that the snow is thawing, the gates covered by the magic roses.

They sit down on a bench and observe the beautiful night sky together.

"I always loved the stars", Carmilla says as she looks up.

Laura stares at her then, seeing the light in her dark eyes and smiling at how happy Carmilla seems tonight. She looks so calm and even beautiful with her fur combed and the royal clothes she was wearing.

Nothing like the dangerous and angry creature from so long ago.

But there was also something else there. Something about how she was just Carmilla. Sweet Carmilla who gave her a whole library to explore, Carmilla who danced with her. Carmilla who is always trying to find something to make Laura happy with her life in the castle lately.

"They are definitely some odd things."

"What?" Carmilla asks, confused by Laura's statement.

"Oh, nothing. Just… they are… beautiful." Laura trips on her words and blushes, caught observing Carmilla instead of the stars.

* * *

 **A** fter a few minutes outside Laura is feeling nostalgic, thinking about the life she left behind.

She is completely happy with the life she has now with Carmilla. But, still, sometimes she would think about her father and sadness would overcome her heart.

Her poor father is probably worried about his little girl. Alone in their old house.

"What's wrong?" Carmilla asks.

"I miss my father."

Laura expects Carmilla to be upset but instead there is compassion in her eyes. This is something new. She never mentions her father, afraid of the reaction it would cause.

"Come with me. I want to show you something," says Carmilla.

They walk around the castle quickly, Laura trying to keep up with Carmilla's fast and long steps.

Once they get to the flower room, Laura waits at the door. It's the first time she's been here since the fight they had months ago.

Carmilla moves around looking for something on the drawers and then brings an object in her paws when she comes back.

"It's a magic mirror, you can see your father in the reflection," she explains.

Laura holds the object in her hands.

"How do I do that?"

"Just think about him and he should appear."

Closing her eyes, Laura tries to conjure an old memory of her Papa. The image comes slowly to her mind, both of them working on their house with a new invention when she was just a little girl. Laughing when the machine broke halfway through an experiment, as her dad tried to contain the fire in his clothes.

When she opened her eyes, she saw him in the reflection.

Lying on his bed.

His face pale and tired.

Coughing and writhing in what looks like a lot of pain.

"What's wrong?" Carmilla asks once Laura gasps and tears start forming in her eyes.

"He is sick! Oh no, this is terrible. He is in his bed, all alone."

Laura sits in one of the chairs, mirror close to her face. Her hands start to shake and soon she is crying for her Papa, probably dying in their house. With no one around to take care of him.

"You should go." She hears Carmilla saying.

When Laura looks up, she can see how honest the creature is in this moment. Giving something to Laura that she never thought was possible.

Could she really be setting her free?

"I… don't want to leave you."

"He needs you more than me. I'm letting you go, Laura. Go take care of your father."

Laura tries to give the mirror back to Carmilla, but she refuses.

"Take it with you, something to remember me by."

Through her tears, Laura smiles and runs to give Carmilla a hug.

It's their first one.

And maybe the last.

She tries to commit this moment to memory. How Carmilla always smells of old books, how she is always so warm because of her fur. The gentle way her paws embrace her little body as if afraid that she would break Laura at any moment.

"I would never forget you, my friend. Thank you."

And then she is running out of the door, without looking back.

She doesn't know if she would be brave enough to leave the place if she saw the sorrow in Carmilla's eyes.

* * *

 **A/N:** We are so close to the end! This is my favorite BATB scene and I hope it's good enough what I tried to do here.

Sorry for taking so long updating this one. The chapter was ready for a few days already but we had to change betas and find someone new to help. So now we have a new beta reader who is going to work with my fics and everything is back to the normal schedules. Thanks, Niall!


	7. True As It Can Be

**T** he last petal falls from the flower in the glass dome.

Carmilla is not even surprised when she sees it happening; she only watches as the red petal falls and then she sighs, feeling defeated.

She knows what this means. After three hundred years, she has lost any hope she ever had of regaining her lost humanity. She is doomed to be a beast forever, never to leave the castle.

There are whispers close by in the room but she tries her best to ignore them, knowing the staff is probably waiting for her to lose control and start breaking things. But right now there is no more anger inside of her, she doesn't have the strength to think about it or do anything.

Laura left her.

Well, she was actually the one to let her go but does it make any difference anyway?

She would like to think it does. Because Laura wanted to stay, she said so before she ran away to help her father.

"I don't want to leave you." The words from the girl are still running through Carmilla's mind.

What was Carmilla expecting?

She couldn't just keep the girl here forever with her. Laura isn't hers; she doesn't belong in an ugly ruined castle, living with a dangerous and ugly monster like Carmilla.

Laura deserves beautiful things, adventures in distant lands with the sun shining on her long honey hair, walks on a beach by the ocean or climbing to the top of a mountain and breathing the clean air.

Carmilla can still imagine her sweet smile and cute laugh right now, warming everything up inside her from her head to her toes.

It's with a pang in her heart that Carmilla realizes that she is already missing Laura. It has been less than two days and she is already moping around and trying to grasp at every little memory of her, uneable to leave anything behind.

She still remembers the way Laura looked at her on the night of the ball they had just a few nights ago, with her yellow dress moving around her tiny body. Their hands clasped together as they danced over and over again all night.

"Do you think she is okay?" LaFontaine says from the door.

"Maybe we should try to…"

"Leave me alone," Carmilla says in a low and warning tone, interrupting Danny before they all decided to come in and get closer to her.

It's enough to make them go away and then she is all alone again, taking her time to feel sorry for herself in the dark room.

This is what monsters like her deserve.

Loneliness and pain.

Not pretty girls with big and gentle hearts.

She is not deserving of love, just like the enchantress had told her long ago.

* * *

 **I** t's the middle of the night when she hears the first sounds starting.

Carmilla can feel the small tremors in the earth from far away, and then voices join what sounds like a synchronized march. Nothing of this makes much sense and she moves closer to the windows, trying to find the source of all the noise.

She sees them in the distance, coming over the horizon. Men, women and even children from the small town of Styria. All of them are coming in the direction of the gates with torches and pitchforks in their hands.

After a few more seconds of commotion, Carmilla could finally hear what the voices were screaming.

"Kill the beast! Kill the beast!"

"Let's kill the monster!" comes a voice from the first round of people.

It's all happening again.

Memories from two centuries ago come back, when another human girl came to her castle and made her believe she could be loved.

Despite the passage of time, she is still making the same mistakes and causing the same problems to herself over and over again.

But she defeated them once before; she can do it again. She will just scare them enough and soon they will leave, just like everyone else has done in the past two hundred years.

* * *

 **C** armilla watches in silence as the people from the town break down the gates and run toward the castle.

It's a mix of screams, fire and people running over the tall grass. Never before she could remember so many people coming to attack the castle.

There is something not quite right about the way these people move, like an army of perfect soldiers. Their movements look too synchronized and planned, not at all like normal humans are supposed to be with their awkward running.

But there is not enough time for Carmilla to just stay here watching them. In a few more seconds they are going to get inside and she needs to get away from the window so as not to call attention to the room where she is.

She walks down the corridors, reaching for the entry hall and when she gets there, she can see the beginning of what seems to be a battle.

The objects of the castle are giving the people of the town quite a fight. There are wardrobes closing with men inside of them, tables using their legs as swords, candles setting fire to clothes.

Carmilla doesn't move for a moment, observing as the place gets destroyed, even more than how it was before.

She knows she should be feeling something, watching as her house for the past three hundred years is being demolished. But she doesn't feel anything, just an empty sorrow and acceptance that maybe this will be her end after all.

Maybe this time, the people will finally manage to kill her.

Maybe she should let them do it.

Wouldn't that be better than keep spending her days stuck alone in this place feeling sorry for herself?

It could all end tonight and she wouldn't have to deal with the heartache anymore.

* * *

 **S** he goes back to the flower room to get ready for the end.

From here Carmilla can still hear the sounds of the battle downstairs and feel the shaking of the walls.

She imagines this is probably how the end of the world would sound.

And she can't even care about it anymore; she just hopes it doesn't take too long.

* * *

 **A** fter a few more minutes she finally calms herself enough to walk outside to her balcony, the same one she and Laura went to look at the stars a few days ago.

Closing her eyes, Carmilla tries to bring back the memories from these last months they spent together.

Laura's smile. Laura reading until late at night, like she wanted to devour the whole library. Laura throwing snowballs at her and laughing so loud that it echoed around the whole castle. Laura dancing in her arms, happy just to be around Carmilla.

Her thoughts are interrupted by a noise drawing closer to the balcony.

"Beast! I've finally come to finish you," says a male voice from somewhere nearby.

Carmilla opens her eyes and looks to her left where she finds a young man climbing up on the roof from the other room.

She growls at him, but the man only laughs, showing his fangs at her.

Wait, fangs?

Carmilla's eyes go wide.

When she was still a human girl, she had heard the rumors about evil creatures of the night that lived in Styria, but she never believed they were true. At least not until she got turned into a monster herself.

Then came the enchantress who changed her destiny and killed her whole family in the blink of an eye, the weird wolves who lived in the forest behind the castle and the people turned into objects that could talk and walk.

She guesses that a vampire coming to kill her shouldn't be such a big surprise.

"Who are you?" Carmilla questions him.

"I'm Will," he starts, opening a big evil smile. "It's such a pleasure to meet you Carmilla. I've heard a lot about you in these last centuries, mainly from Mother. But I got tired of hearing all about you and just decided to ignore the fact that I was not the only monster around." Suddenly Will's eyes seem to get darker with malice. "But then your little girlfriend came back to town and started talking…"

Carmilla growls again.

"You know Laura?"

"Everyone in the city knows her. Sweet little thing, has her mind in the clouds. She is a little odd, but I guess sinking my teeth in her would be good enough after I kill you."

Something tugs in Carmilla's heart and she feels the rage building inside her.

"You won't harm her!"

"We'll see about that."

He jumps on the balcony and Carmilla steps back; trying to stay away from the knife that now she can see he is holding in one of his hands.

She is not really sure if only the blaze can kill her or if there is some sort of magical ritual that needs to be involved to end her life, but she's not taking any chances.

With fast movements, too fast for any human, Will is suddenly punching her in the stomach. Then he hits her face with the knife handle and she can feel blood forming inside her mouth.

The vampire's eyes turn dark again and she knows that he can probably smell the blood on her, claiming a first victory on his part.

"Why are you doing this? Killing me after all this time?" Carmilla answers, trying to gain some time and distract him for a while.

"Revenge? Payback? Call it what you want. My final wish is to kill Mother, but first I need to kill you to get to her."

"What? Who is Mother? Who are you talking about?" she has no idea what all of this talk is about, but something tells her to keep talking; if he is talking, he can't concentrate on hurting her again.

"You don't even know… The enchantress who put a spell on you. She commands everything in these lands for centuries. In my opinion, for far too long. It's time to start a new reign in Styria."

Carmilla is still confused by what all of this means, but she barely has time to think further before the vampire is closing the distance between them. She tries to move and throw some punches back, but he is still too fast for her.

She is probably out of practice. Getting rid of a few wolves is easy, but a vampire who seems to be far older than her and way more agile, is a different thing.

There is a sting on her arm and she sees that Will managed to open a long cut on her left arm. She falls close to the roof, trying to keep focused and alert but the world is slowly starting to blur all around her.

Will laughs seem to come from far away and then the knife is in the air, ready to finish her.

Carmilla closes her eyes to accept the end.

* * *

" **C** arm!"

Still with her eyes closed, she hears her voice.

Laura.

But it can't be her, she can't be here. Carmilla must be imagining things, trying to keep Laura with her even in those last moments.

"Carm! Carmilla!"

She hears it again and opens her eyes.

Will is still with the knife up; his smile seems even bigger now.

But his eyes aren't focused on her; he is looking down in the direction of the now destroyed gates.

Carmilla turns her head around and there she is.

Still the same sweet girl with honey hair, running through the tall grass to get to the castle as fast she can on her short legs. There is a man with her and soon Carmilla recognizes Laura's father coming down of his horse, running to keep up with his daughter.

"Laura?" she whispers, not believing that she came back.

Laura came back.

For her.

Carmilla takes one deep breath and turns around to face Will, ready to start fighting back.

She won't let this vampire or anyone harm Laura as long as she has a breath left in her.

* * *

 **A/N:** Only one more chapter to go! I'm also going to write a short epilogue after that. Hope you guys are enjoying the fic.


	8. Beauty and the Beast

**L** aura hurries as fast as she can towards the castle.

She can hear the sounds of the battle from inside, mixed with screaming and the clashing of metal. A dark cloud of smoke billows out from the broken windows, the smell of it growing stronger the closer she gets to the place.

"Laura, wait for me!" her dad calls to her.

It took her two days to get him better again and now here he was, already running with her in the middle of all the chaos. She had told him to stay in bed and rest, but he would not listen, saying that he needed to be sure she was fine.

She couldn't deny him that, after being unable to contact him for months.

"Papa, we need to be careful that no one sees us here," she whispers behind her back. "Let's go this way!"

She takes him by the arm and they enter a hidden door on the side of the brick walls. From this passage the people from the town won't be able to see them coming, all distracted with the fight that is still happening in the entry hall.

* * *

 **W** hile she runs up the stairs with her dad behind her, Laura thinks about the last few days.

It wasn't easy to get home and see the state her father was in, sick and alone in a messy house. There were spiderwebs in every corner and the smell of illness was stronger than ever. Thinking that he would never see his daughter again, George had given up on his life.

She had to run to the city to ask for help and medicine for him.

Laura expected things to go smoothly; she would be back home and manage to fix everything in no time. But then everyone who came to help started to ask questions.

Where had Laura been all these months?

What kinds of mysteries was this weird family hiding from them?

Soon enough Will was at their door. He entered the house like he belonged there and found the magic mirror between her things, unleashing a series of events that Laura would regret.

All the people from the town saw Carmilla in the mirror and gasped in terror, alarmed by the fact that a beast so horrendous was living close to them.

It didn't take much convincing from Will before they armed themselves with pitchforks and torches to march in the direction of the castle.

"We need to kill this monster before it reaches our town! Are we going to stay here waiting for it to come and kill our children? Let's kill the beast!" Will had screamed to the angry crowd in front of their house.

It.

Beast.

Monster.

They called Carmilla all these unfair and awful names and Laura felt her blood boiling. But they wouldn't even listen to Laura's frantic explanations; Will had already taken advantage of their blind misconceptions.

So here she was again.

Running back to Carmilla, trying to fix at least one more thing.

Laura only saw a brief image of her and Will fighting on the balcony and that was more than enough to send her mind into a spiral of fear and anxiety.

* * *

 **A** few minutes later she had run into her old friends.

"Laura! You came back!" Perry says and smiles.

Soon all the other objects are running to her side, excited to see Laura again.

"Where is she?" Laura asks.

"Still on the balcony, by my guess. Will is a vampire!" Laf answers.

"What? A vampire? But I've known him all my life…"

Laura stops mid sentence, realizing that she does know Will all her life, the same way she knows him now. Always young and pale and…. so obviously a vampire.

Turning around she can see her father with his mouth open, he is looking at the objects with a mesmerized look in his face.

"So… everything you told me is actually true," he says.

"Yes, it is, Papa. We don't have time for this now…"

"Go find her, Miss Hollis. We'll take care of your father," JP replies.

Laf, Laura and Perry run to help Carmilla while George, JP and Danny hide somewhere else in case they need backup later.

If the battle downstairs gets any closer, they'll have to deal with this problem too.

* * *

 **W** hen they finally reach the balcony, Carmilla and Will are fighting wildly.

Laura can see blood in Carmilla's fur and her heart begins to beat even faster.

There is barely time for her to run to the door when Will sinks the knife into the creature's stomach.

"No!" Laura screams and falls to her knees, watching as Carmilla's eyes turn to her one last time before she is on the floor too.

She seems to open her mouth for just a second, trying to say something, but her body stops moving before she can do anything else.

A buzz starts somewhere in the distance, growing slowly until it gets so loud that Laura needs to cover her ears with her hands and soon she closes her eyes in pain.

Is Carmilla really dead?

She can't be. She can't.

And it's all Laura's fault.

* * *

 **O** pening her eyes again, Laura notices there is now a tall woman with long blonde hair and a beautiful red dress, talking with Will.

"What have you done now, silly boy?" the woman's voice is weird and sounds distant, like she is talking inside of a dream.

Maybe this is all a nightmare and Laura will soon wake up in her bed again. No more animals and objects talking, no more broken hearts and blood and fire.

There is more talking from the balcony, but Laura is only half listening to it as she is too busy paying attention to the lifeless body just a few meters away from her.

Getting up, Laura forces herself to give two steps before her body is thrown through the air and pinned against the wall. The impact takes her breath away from a second and there is a sharp pain spreading through her head.

"What do we have here?" the tall woman says, now looking at Laura with her red and curious eyes. "Another little thing that Mircalla tried to lure away? Such a shame. She never did learn that a human cannot love a monster like her."

Suddenly something tugs in her throat and Laura feels the air leaving her body. She is half suspended in the air, watching as the strange woman laughs at her. Tears start forming behind her eyes, but Laura grasps at every last breath. She needs to think of something before it's too late.

Her eyes turn to the door and she can see that LaF and Perry are still hidden there, waiting for a sign to join the fight.

Laura looks back at the two creatures and notices that Will is getting something red out from his jacket pockets.

"Let's occupy ourselves with more important matters first, shall we, Mother?" the vampire says with poison in his words.

The woman turns to him then and growls when she sees the petals in his hands.

"You wouldn't dare!"

"Watch me!" Will closes his hands now around the petals, applying pressure.

In a second the woman's hands fly in his direction and he starts suffocating too. His eyes seem to almost bulge out of his face. A stake seems to appear out of nowhere and the evil woman brings it to her right hand.

With a smile on her face, she sinks the stake in the vampire's heart. He screams in pain and the woman touches him softly with one finger, just enough force to make him fall from the roof and turn into ashes in the air.

Laura takes the time where the woman seems to be distracted by killing the vampire to look back at LaF.

"What?" they seem to mouth at her.

Moving her wrist with discretion Laura tries her best to make fire signs, opening and closing her hand. She turns her eyes briefly to the petals that are now scattered around the blonde woman's feet. After a few more seconds, LaF seems to get the message.

"Now, where were we?" the evil woman says and brings her attention back at Laura.

Her red eyes are almost hypnotic and Laura needs to concentrate so as not to get lost in them.

She holds two fingers up in waiting.

"Ah yes, poor Mircalla. Waited so long for a person who would actually care. Always such a hopeful girl…" the woman takes a few steps closer to Carmilla's body and that's when Laura knows she needs to act.

"NOW!" she opens her hand and shouts.

Perry runs to brush the petals closer to LaF just at the right time that they wave their flames up.

Everything seems to happen in slow motion.

The flames rise up, turning and turning in the air. The screams of the evil woman as she burns too, turning into a pile of ashes on the floor of the balcony. A soft breeze springing up and blowing the same ashes far away, to join Will's.

* * *

 **I** t's quiet in the castle. With the death of William, the townspeople slowly come to their senses again.

There are no more sounds of battle from the entry hall, no more shaking of the walls or screams coming from inside.

Laura walks closer to the lonely body on the floor. She still feels her throat dry and burning from the flames earlier and from the woman's attack, but she doesn't care.

"The battle is over," her father says when he appears at the door with the others close by.

As soon as they see Carmilla, they all stop and go quiet.

No one else tries to approach as Laura kneels, bringing her hands to Carmilla's head. She can feel the tears falling free from her eyes now, the sobs forming in her body, the shaking of her hands.

Nothing else matters.

Not if Carmilla is really dead.

And it's all Laura's fault.

If she had stayed here, maybe both Carmilla and her father would be okay; maybe no evil vampires and enchantresses would have appeared to attack her.

She runs her fingers in the smooth fur, thinking that she won't ever see those beautiful dark eyes looking at her again. She won't hear Carmilla's chuckles and funny broody jokes anymore.

They are never going to dance together again and look at the stars.

Laura hugs Carmilla's body closer to her and holds her tightly, feeling her warmth leaving the body so soon.

Stay. Stay a little longer for me, is all that Laura can think.

She knows it's selfish, but she can't bear to lose her like this.

"I love you," she whispers quietly, just for Carmilla's ears.

A tremor rocks the whole castle under their feet.

Although Laura tries to keep her arms around her, suddenly she notices Carmilla's body become suffused with a soft glowing light.

She gets up and moves away from her, noticing that the same light seems to be around the walls, the floor, and the roof. Soon enough it's reaching LaF, Perry and the other objects too.

Only Laura and her father are untouched by the light, watching with wide eyes as the change happens.

JP has turned into a young man with dark hair; Danny has changed from a clock to a tall redhead. Both LaF and Perry are also, surprise, redhead humans.

What is happening?

Carmilla's body is still glowing with the light.

The walls cease their shaking and Laura can see the dirt disappearing, holes between the bricks getting fixed, shiny glass in the place of broken windows.

Laura barely recognizes the sound of water coming from the fountain down in the garden; her whole attention is now on the change happening to Carmilla.

* * *

 **W** hen the light stops shining, she is not a creature anymore.

In the place of dark fur, there is now pale smooth skin. Instead of paws, there are arms and legs and fingers.

In front of them is a beautiful young girl with dark hair framing her sharp lined face.

Just like the one in the ripped painting.

Could she be…?

The girl finally opens her eyes and starts inspecting her own body with awe, like she can't believe she has things like fingers and human skin. The clothes fall around her body at awkward angles, now too big for her small frame.

Then her eyes seem to focus on Laura.

"You came back…" she says with a melodic but still weak voice.

Laura steps closer, still confused by what this all means.

Her hands touch the soft skin in the girl's perfect jaw line and she gets lost in her dark brown eyes. She saw them before in another face; she is sure of that now.

"Hey."

"Hey."

Laura smiles and her heart starts beating so fast she feels like she could fly right now.

As Carmilla closes the distance between them all she can do is think she is alive, she is alive, she is alive.

Soon warm lips are on hers and Laura melts in the girl's arms, finally feeling at peace for the first time in the last hours.

When they open their eyes again, they can't hold back the big smiles on their faces.

"Are you okay? Because you just got a knife on your stomach and I hugged you really hard. And I'm so sorry I hugged you so hard, you are probably still hurt…"

Carmilla kisses her again, not letting her start another of her sweet rambles.

It takes them a few minutes to be able to stop kissing and hugging each other.

"So… You were a giant black cat!" Laura says awkwardly.

Their laughs echo again around the new shining walls of the castle.


	9. Epilogue

**T** he sound of music comes through the windows of the castle. A waltz is starting, the first notes resonating beautifully in the air.

Carmilla smiles as she checks the bag on the horse's back for the last time, feeling happier as she has never been before in her life. The promise of days and nights with just Laura as her company is making her both nervous and excited at the prospect.

"I promise I'll send you tons of letters, Papa," Laura says as she hugs her father.

"I think you two need to go now before Perry finds out and freaks out in the middle of the party." LaFontaine appears by the kitchen's door and interrupts the moment.

Laura and Carmilla had managed to keep it mostly secret that they were leaving the castle for a while. Only LaF and George knew the full story. The first because they needed someone to help them with the plans, the latter because Laura couldn't hide anything from her father anymore. Not something as big as going on a very long vacation to distant lands. For the sake of his sanity, she had promised to be careful and come back before the end of the year.

The moment Carmilla had told Laura about her idea, the girl had jumped on her arms, with the biggest smile ever. She had been thinking a lot about it in the last days, wanting to surprise Laura with something special.

Then she remembered about all the dreams Laura had about getting out of the small town, wanting to see the vast world that existed outside of Styria and she knew exactly what to do.

As a celebration for the spell finally being broken, the staff of the castle had prepared a big party. All the people from the town had been invited and seemed more than eager to come and see the mysterious castle hidden in the forest.

And now everyone was inside the ballroom, waiting for the Countess to have her first dance of the night with Laura. Not knowing that both of them would be running away at this exact moment.

"I can hear her coming, Laura! Go on," Laf says one more time, hushing them to go.

"I'll miss you too, LaF!" Laura mocks them and runs over to Carmilla who is waiting with the horse.

Laura smiles at her and bites her lip, a beautiful blush forming on her cheeks. Carmilla had noticed that she almost looked shyer now around her now that she was no longer a beast in rags; something about Carmilla in a dress seemed to make the girl flustered quite fast.

Laura jumps on the horse behind Carmilla and hugs her waist, both feeling more than comfortable with the position.

"Ready to go on an adventure, Miss Hollis?" Carmilla asks with a smirk.

"As ready as I'll ever be, Miss Karnstein."

Carmilla tugs on the horse's reins and down the road they go, with the sun setting on the horizon. They both know there is still so much to know about each other, but their hearts also know there is no other place they'd rather be than in their lover's arms.

"Where are we going?" Laura asks curiously.

"Everywhere."

Life would still be full of surprises for the girls but they were still certain of one thing; that together they'd always find a way to live happily ever after.

* * *

 **A/N:** Thank you all so much for reading this little story! Your comments always make my heart so full.

Its been so fun to adapt Hollstein into my favorite fairytale and many more are to come in this new year. Also a big thank you to the two betas who worked with me in this fic: Doris and Niall!


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